Friday, June 24, 2011

DC Super Friends Superman & Batman (Variants)

You've already caught a glimpse of these DC Super Friends action figures in the last two posts- now it's time for a closer inspection. These are variants of the DC Super Friends Superman w/Slam & Bam Wall and Batman w/Throwing Action by Mattel from 2007. There were regular versions of these characters available, but I chose these instead- I have dozens of conventional Batman and Superman action figures from a variety of toy lines already, and I really liked these a lot.

My love affair with these action figures started upon seeing this Superman variant on some guy's YouTube channel. He seemed mildly annoyed by the red sleeves, but I absolutelyloved it (shut up, I'm not kidding)! From there I began searching for more information on these toys, and was doubly pleased upon discovering several Batman variants (I bought two). I thought they's make a colorful pair! I'd love to see these outfits used in the (laughs) upcoming DC reboot- boy, would that cause an uproar! :D

The DC Super Friends figures have a lot in common with the DC Imaginext and DC Hero World lines produced by Fisher-Price, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel Toys. These also remind me of the Mattel Batman: The Brave & The Bold series, in their chunky, pre-school design. While limited in their articulation, they do have cut joints in the wrist and a ball-jointed neck in addition to shoulders/hips/elbows- two simple things that greatly improves their "expressiveness". While many of you action figure collectors may disregard these as "cutesy" or "kiddie" toys, I appreciate the design of these as much as any DCUC, DC Direct, or Marvel Legends figure. Their happy colors and bulky tactile appeal make them both comforting and inviting- "Play with me, I'm cute!" Like any good toy, these are made for play.

Like the Batman: The Brave & The Bold toys, there are holes cut into the backs of Batman & Superman's capes, exposing their accessory clips. I feel as though this line was abruptly cut short, as there appears to be little use for these and there weren't many characters produced.

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Superman comes with a Slam & Bam Wall accessory- setting the figure on the ledge sets of it's mechanism, collapsing the wall...

Batman's Throwing Action accessory doesn't function quite as smoothly, possibly due to the kinked air hose leading from the pump to the weapon/projectile... though I have the ultimate accessory for this toy already, so I don't really care :)